Get started with mobile apps

Verify that your institution is on a compatible version of Blackboard Learn that supports the Blackboard and Blackboard Instructor apps. If your institution is on an incompatible version, please make accommodations to upgrade to a supported release.

After the building block is installed and configured, users simply download the app from the app store, search for their school name, and log in. You can use the Communication and Adoption Toolkit to help spread the word on campus.

Contact your Blackboard account executive if you have questions about upgrading Blackboard Learn or the Mobile Web Services building block.

Make the login process clear

Blackboard institutions handle credentials in various ways. Here are some tips to make sure your users have a problem-free login experience.

Test before rollout

Create a test account and log in before you notify your users that the mobile apps are available and provide login instructions. Make sure that the information you provide to users matches what they experience in the app UI.

If mobile logins don't match Blackboard Learn web logins at your school, be sure to state that clearly.

Edit the username label

One way to help users log in without problems is to change the username label that shows when they log in to the mobile apps. You can match this label to the term used for the login for mobile apps at your school.

For example, if your school refers to the login credentials as University ID and Password instead of Username and Password, you can change that in the mobile app interface.

Access the administrator panel.

Select Building Blocks.

Select Installed Tools.

Locate Blackboard Mobile Web Services Building Block and select Settings from its menu.

Select Server Registration Settings.

Change Username Label to a term that will be immediately recognized by users.

Link to your institution's help desk

The Blackboard help site directs users to your institution's help desk for further assistance at the bottom of each page. Users are provided a link to Behind the Blackboard where they can search for their institution and get support.